4731-13-17
Settlements, dismissals, and voluntary surrenders.

(A)
Settlement shall be negotiated on behalf
of the board by the secretary and supervising member of the board. Any
settlement agreement containing terms not in conformity with the disciplinary
guidelines adopted by the board must have the concurrence of the board's
president prior to execution.

(B)
Any matter which is the subject of a hearing may be settled by the parties. If
settlement negotiations continue after the final day of hearing, the parties
shall, within ten days of the final day of hearing, jointly present the hearing
examiner with written notice specifying a period of time, not to exceed thirty
days, during which the record shall be held open for purposes of negotiation.

(1)
If the hearing record has closed or
closes during the period of time specified in the parties' joint notice, such
notice shall toll the hearing examiner's thirty-day time period for issuance of
findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to section
4731.23 of the Revised Code.

(2)
If, at the conclusion of the
time period specified by the parties' joint notice, the hearing examiner has
not received appropriate written notice that a settlement agreement has been
executed, the tolling of the hearing examiner's thirty-day period for issuance
of findings of fact and conclusions of law shall cease, no further settlement
negotiations shall be undertaken, and no settlement agreement shall be executed
in lieu of the filing of a report and recommendation by the hearing examiner
and the issuance of a final order by the board.

(C)
Before being submitted to the board for
ratification, all settlement agreements shall be in writing and shall be signed
by the respondent and by the respondent's attorney, if any.

(D)
Signed settlement agreements shall be
submitted to the board for ratification.

(E)
If the Board ratifies a settlement
agreement, the following shall sign the ratified agreement:

(1)
The secretary and supervising member of
the board shall sign the ratified agreement.

(2)
If the settlement agreement was
negotiated prior to the issuance of a notice of opportunity for hearing, an
appropriate board staff attorney shall sign the ratified agreement.

(3)
If the settlement was negotiated
subsequent to the issuance of a notice of opportunity for hearing, an attorney
from the office of the attorney general shall sign the ratified agreement..

(F)
A notice of
dismissal may be entered at any time prior to the filing of the report and
recommendation. If negotiations continue after the final day of hearing, the
procedures in paragraph (B) of this rule shall be followed. A notice of
dismissal shall be authorized and signed by the board's secretary and
supervising member.

(G)
This rule
shall neither apply to nor limit the authority granted the board under division
(M) of section 4731.22 of the Revised Code with
regard to the surrender of a license or certificate or the withdrawal of an
application for a license or certificate.

(H)
In the event that the board issues an
amended notice of opportunity for hearing, the original notice of opportunity
for hearing is automatically superseded by the amended notice. To request a
hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the respondent must file
a new hearing request in response to the amended notice of opportunity for
hearing. For purposes of this chapter of the Administrative Code, "amended
cite" means a cite in which there has been a substantive alteration to one or
more factual allegations or statutory charges, other than correction of a
clerical or technical error, that relates to the allegations set forth in the
original notice.